Bob Hoskins

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Birthday:

26 October 1942, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England, UK

Birth Name:

Robert William Hoskins

Height:

168 cm

Bob Hoskins was born on October 26, 1942, in Bury St. Edmund's, Suffolk, where his mother was living after being evacuated as a result of the heavy bombings. He is the son of Elsie Lillian (Hopkins), a nursery school teacher and cook, and Robert William Hoskins, Sr., who drove a lorry and worked as a bookkeeper. Growing up, Hoskins received only limited education and he left school at 15, but with a passion for language and literature instilled by his former English teacher. A regular theatre-goer, Hoskins dreamed of starring on stage, but before he could do so he had to work odd jobs for a long time to make ends meet. His acting career started out more by accident than by design, when he accompanied a friend to watch some auditions, only to be confused for one of the people auditioning, getting a script pushed into his hands with the message "You're next". He got the part and acquired an agent. After some stage success, he expanded to television with roles in television series such as Villains (1972) and Thick as Thieves (1974). In the mid-'70s, he started his film career, standing out when he performed alongside Richard Dreyfuss in John Byrum's Inserts (1975) and in a smaller part in Richard Lester's Royal Flash (1975).Hoskins broke through in 1978 in Dennis Potter's mini TV series, Pennies from Heaven (1978), playing "Arthur Parker", the doomed salesman. After this, a string of high-profile and successful films followed, starting with his true major movie debut in 1980's The Long Good Friday (1980) as the ultimately doomed "Harold Shand". This was followed by such works as The Cotton Club (1984), Mona Lisa (1986), which won him an Oscar nomination as well as a BAFTA award, Cannes Film Festival and Golden Globe), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) (Golden Globe nomination), Mermaids (1990), Hook (1991), Nixon (1995), Felicia's Journey (1999) and Enemy at the Gates (2001).Hoskins always carefully balanced the riches of Hollywood with the labor of independent film, though leaned more towards the latter than the former. He worked at smaller projects such as Shane Meadows' debut 24 7: Twenty Four Seven (1997), in which he starred as "Allen Darcy". Besides this, he found time to direct, write and star in The Raggedy Rawney (1988), as well as direct and star in Rainbow (1995), and contributing to HBO's Tales from the Crypt (1989) and Tube Tales (1999).Suffering from Parkinson's disease in later years, Hoskins died of pneumonia at age 71 in a London hospital. Show less «

On getting his first role: I was three parts pissed. We were going to a party. And this bloke comes around and says: "Right. You're next. Ha...Show more »

On getting his first role: I was three parts pissed. We were going to a party. And this bloke comes around and says: "Right. You're next. Have you seen the script?" And I got the leading part. Show less «

[in 1988] My life has taken off - my life, my career - everything. I can honestly say I've never been happier. I'm walking around thinking a...Show more »

[in 1988] My life has taken off - my life, my career - everything. I can honestly say I've never been happier. I'm walking around thinking any minute now, 25 tons of horseshit is going to fall on my head. Show less «

Most dictators were short, fat, middle-aged and hairless. Besides Danny DeVito, there's only me to play them.

When you get to my age, what you want is the cameo. You get paid a lot of money. You fly in for a couple of weeks. Everybody treats you like...Show more »

When you get to my age, what you want is the cameo. You get paid a lot of money. You fly in for a couple of weeks. Everybody treats you like the crown jewels. It's all great and if the film turns out to be a load of shit, nobody blames you. Show less «

My own mum wouldn't call me pretty.

I've watched films and even forgotten I'm in them.

You don't end up with a face like this if you're hard, do ya? This comes from having too much mouth and nothing to back it up with. The nose...Show more »

You don't end up with a face like this if you're hard, do ya? This comes from having too much mouth and nothing to back it up with. The nose has been broken so many times. Show less «

You reach a point where the cameo is the governor. You go in there for a couple of weeks, you're paid a lot of money, everybody treats you l...Show more »

You reach a point where the cameo is the governor. You go in there for a couple of weeks, you're paid a lot of money, everybody treats you like the crown jewels, you're in and out, and if the film's a load of shit, nobody blames you, y'knowwhadimean. It's wonderful. Show less «

The worst thing I ever did? Super Mario Bros. (1993). It was a f**kin' nightmare. The whole experience was a nightmare. It had a husband-and...Show more »

The worst thing I ever did? Super Mario Bros. (1993). It was a f**kin' nightmare. The whole experience was a nightmare. It had a husband-and-wife team directing, whose arrogance had been mistaken for talent. After so many weeks, their own agent told them to get off the set! F**kin' nightmare. F**kin' idiots. Show less «

[on Robert De Niro] De Niro has only shown me kindness. He's a real friend. He's helped me shop for my wife's and my kids' Christmas present...Show more »

[on Robert De Niro] De Niro has only shown me kindness. He's a real friend. He's helped me shop for my wife's and my kids' Christmas presents. He's invited me round to meet his granny and he's come to my house for a pot-luck dinner. That really knocked my wife out. I think she was finally impressed with me. Show less «

[on director Francis Ford Coppola] Coppola couldn't piss in a pot.

[on Neil Jordan] I think Neil is a magician. And I believe in magic.

[on the acting profession] I came into this business uneducated, dyslexic, 5ft 6in, cubic, with a face like a squashed cabbage and they welc...Show more »

[on the acting profession] I came into this business uneducated, dyslexic, 5ft 6in, cubic, with a face like a squashed cabbage and they welcomed me with open arms. Show less «

I realized one day that men are emotional cripples. We can't express ourselves emotionally, we can only do it with anger and humor. Emotiona...Show more »

I realized one day that men are emotional cripples. We can't express ourselves emotionally, we can only do it with anger and humor. Emotional stability and expression comes from women. When they have babies they say "hello, you're welcome" and they mean it. It is an emotional honesty. Show less «

[on Method acting] Method is a load of bollocks.

Acting is a lark but I'm trying to work less. They say: "Bob I know you're trying to retire but we've got a little swan song here which is t...Show more »

Acting is a lark but I'm trying to work less. They say: "Bob I know you're trying to retire but we've got a little swan song here which is the business..." and I get talked into it. The more you don't want to work, the more work you get. I want to be at home with the wife, but she doesn't want me to retire, she wants me out of the house. Show less «

Family's all I've got. I've got money, yeah, but it's my family that I care about.

It's funny, going in a pub now and there's no smoke. It may be healthier but it doesn't feel right. Even the beer tastes different.

[in his last-ever interview in August 2012] My greatest pleasure in life is a completely appointment-less day with nothing to do. It means I...Show more »

[in his last-ever interview in August 2012] My greatest pleasure in life is a completely appointment-less day with nothing to do. It means I can read a book, listen to the radio and do exactly as I wish. If you are going to do a film properly you have to give yourself completely to it. You can't slip in and slip out again. You give it the business. My diary now is free, completely free. That's the way I like it. I only do what I want to do. Show less «

There was a time when people said, "You've got to speak like you don't, walk like you don't, be like you aren't." I said, "Ere, 'ang on, who...Show more »

There was a time when people said, "You've got to speak like you don't, walk like you don't, be like you aren't." I said, "Ere, 'ang on, who am I? I'd be lost if I did that. I'd be disappearing. I'd be ectoplasm!". Show less «

[on the best kiss of his life] With Natasha Richardson, God bless her, on The Favour, the Watch and the Very Big Fish (1991). She got hold o...Show more »

[on the best kiss of his life] With Natasha Richardson, God bless her, on The Favour, the Watch and the Very Big Fish (1991). She got hold of me and kissed me like I've never been kissed before. I was gobsmacked. Show less «

[on what song he would like played at his funeral] Play what you like, I won't be there.

[asked why he did a much-maligned series of adverts for British Telecom] For 500,000 reasons, all of them with the Queen's head on.

[on moving in middle-class circles] There are four types of reaction. They lock up the silver. They talk to you slowly like you're an idiot....Show more »

[on moving in middle-class circles] There are four types of reaction. They lock up the silver. They talk to you slowly like you're an idiot. They think Hamlet in a cockney accent is the funniest thing in the world. Or they tell you most of their friends are working class and some are even black. Show less «

(On what he owes his parents) Confidence. My mum used to say to me, "If somebody doesn't like you, fuck 'em, they've got bad taste."

(On which living person he despises the most) Tony Blair - he's done even more damage than Thatcher.

(On his earliest memory) The face of a cat looking into my cot at my home in Finsbury Park.

(On the most valuable lesson life has taught him) It's your life, live it your way.